Internship Reflection

Senior project is a class that seniors take to prepare them for the professional work world. The class lasts one semester with twenty hours of interning. Our internships determine if the field of study that we are interested in is suitable for our individual talents. In addition to an internship, we are required to complete a research paper, assemble a product, and partake in a panel presentation. My specific field of interest is education and my specific topic is comparing curricula. My product is a blog geared towards parents and students searching for an effective curriculum. This internship suits me because I want to become a science professor and by observing high school classes I can determine whether this career is appropriate for me.

Senior project and interning challenged my usage of 21^st Century Skills. Flexibility and adaptability was the most frustrating skill to utilize. The teachers that I tried to correspond with either never responded to my emails or did not reply in a timely manner. I constantly had to cancel and reschedule internship days because of my mother’s schedule and the teachers’ schedules. My social skills were tested repeatedly. As a shy person, I had to step out of my comfort zone to interact with the students and teachers at my interning sites. Productivity was also a difficult 21^st Century Skill to exploit. Careful observations were required catch specific elements of the different teaching methods.

The major problem throughout senior project and my internship was connecting research about curricula to real world experiences and observations. Researching a topic and writing a paper is one thing. Actually applying that information to compare and contrast different teaching methods and curricula is another. This was especially difficult because I had to know the different curricula and teaching techniques inside and out in order to make accurate observations pertaining to my thesis. Eventually, I made a mental list of characteristics of each curriculum and made my observations based on that. This method of study allowed for more insightful and accurate observations.

Many 21^st Century Skills were incorporated into senior project, including flexibility and adaptability, initiative and self-direction, social and cross-cultural skills, and productivity, accountability, and responsibility. I had to be very flexible in order to work around the schedules of the teachers that I interned with and my mother who was my source of transportation. I had to take the initiative to make the initial contact with teachers who I wanted to intern with. Also, it took initiative and self-direction to keep in contact with the mentor and other teachers. Interacting with teachers and students to gather information and make observations took social skills, while understanding other cultures took cross-cultural skills. Senior project relies largely on students’ individual work ethic, exercising productivity, accountability, and responsibility. These 21^st skills include quality work, staying on task, and getting tasks done on time. All of the aforementioned skills were used throughout my senior project.

            If I could start from scratch and begin my senior project today, I would change my topic to comparing International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement as well as observe at least two classes of each curriculum. A written checklist of expectations to aid the direction in which I make observations would be very helpful throughout my internship. I would recommend this internship to another student with the following three characteristics. The student needs to have an abundance of patience and researching skills. The student would need to be interested in the education field as a career choice. The student would need to have exceptional social skills in order to make the necessary interactions. All in all, a student with a strong work ethic and an interest in education would be the perfect candidate for continuing my internship and expanding on my observations and conclusions.